Talk:Rumi

Archives
Please do not edit archived pages. If you want to react to a statement made in an archived discussion, please make a new header on THIS page. Baristarim 23:57, 7 December 2006 (UTC) Archives: Archive 1 - Archived on December 7, 2006 Archive 2 - To be Archived on ...

Comments

Style

I have skimmed through this article, and feel that while it is of a good quality overall, sections of it are too full of polemic for a wikipedia article. - this is particularly the case in the 'Rumi and orthodox islam' section. I Suggest that those who are experts in some sense on this topic go through this, and try and rework this section to represent a more general academic view, giving appropriate space (without authorial criticism) for conflicting views. User:HyDeckar 12:11, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Can you please remove "Khorasan" in the first paragraph

Khorasan doesnt exist anymore, so I dont see the significance of mentioning it in his bio. He was from Afghanistan and thats the only important thing to state

Khorasan still exists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khorasan , what did you mean by " desn't exist anymore " ?!! blown up perhaps?!! Even if it " didn't exist now " , it didn't mean that we should change history and " remove " the name of the area! Javdan

who died and made you the king of this thread?? lmao....wow

Well It seems lack of education is just one of your problems! Javdan

yes ur being very mature "agha javdan"...

Homoeroticism in Rumi

Perhaps I've missed any relevant material, but I haven't seen mention of the rather homosexual overtones within Rumi's tomes of poetry. They were certainly a contentious issue then and now. --AWF —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.54.154.26 (talk) 02:13, 24 January 2007 (UTC).

can you point to any specific examples?

Why didn't you sign? -homo-eroticism reputation of Rumi

See here for reasons why people say this: http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/message_list.asp?boardID=399&discussionID=348092

http://www.amazon.com/History-Gay-Literature-Male-Tradition/dp/product-description/0300072015

http://rumi.tribe.net/thread/f2df274e-19c6-460f-b3ad-28b8c7ff698c

http://www.khamush.com/bio.htm

http://www.gaytoday.com/pressroom/ReadPR.asp?id=56

http://www.lifepositive.com/Spirit/masters/Rumi/Life-Rumi.asp

Why are people afraid of homo-eroticism in Rumi??? Arbol25 21:29, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

• • • • Remember that Wikipedia is not edited by experts. Rumi is not popular in the USA. He is not read or discussed in American schools and his books are not prominent in libraries or book stores. Still, fans of Rumi write that he is one of the most popular poets among Americans. There is nothing academic about the claim. The source of the claim is just as unreliable. It's like sourcing Youtube. So, enter the info. of his possible homoeroticism, but keep in mind that you'll need to return every day to enter the same info. because the uneducated will always change the entry to suit their preferences.

Rumi as a perfect human

The notion of the perfect human is so much higher than the level rumi reached... Though he was an amazing man, one who has reached very high levels of humanity and spirituality (much more than normal people)... he was still far far far away from being a perfect human or an Infallible —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.97.51.112 (talk) 23:28, 9 January 2007 (UTC).

LOL Rumi was a good Muslim...May Allah bless him. BUt he was nowhere near to being the perfect person. Prophet Muhammad pbuh is the best of all humans.

Persian literature or another literatures

Because Movlavi(Rumi) books are in Persian, it must be arranged in Persian literature category. How do you arrange him in other literature categories when all his books are in Persian. If you want to arrange him in another literature, first please go to literature page and declare a new definition for literature satisfy your claim. The second think I must say is that for Movlavi(Rumi), language and tribe was not important. He believe idea is important not language, as he says
ای بسا هندو و ترک هم زبان
ای بسا دو ترک چون بيگانگان
پس زبان محرمی خود دیگراست
هم دلی از هم زبانی بهتر است

There are many Turks and Hindu understand each other well(have the same language)
There are so many couples of Turks that don't understand each other.(don't have a common language)
So the language of mutual understanding is something else
Having common ideas is more important than having the same language.

I know atleast he once talks about language and he says:

پارسی گو، گرچه تازی خوشتر است
عشق را خود صد زبان ديگر است

Speak Persian, though Arabic is nicer
The language of love(I mean عشق in Persian) is another

I know my translation is full of error. I apolagize for this bad translation. If you know Persian and English perfectly. I'll be glad to fix them.

--Soroush83 13:16, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

"No language can be superior to another. Just like no nation can be superior to another. Take time to read on the development of the Turkish language and see how the Republic of Turkey respects all languages and nations in the world. Just like what the Mevlevi Order followed. And thanks to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk"
--Atalana 22:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah ... I guess that's why Kurds, Armenians and Greeks have such a good time in Turkey, right?! Tājik 22:58, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

- (Personal attack removed) Visit Turkey, if you can bear it without getting sick in the stomach from jealousy, to see how Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and Kurds live much much more freely than the Azeris, Kurds, and Arabs of your country. - Ur

Maybe because of Ataturk you can’t find name of Kurds in Turkey constituting. At least no body call azaries in Iran “Mountain Fars”. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.183.77.31 (talk) 16:21, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

And don't remove from the article a person who is currently a highly influential Dede in the Mevlana Order. And remember Mevlana had to flee the Persian Empire due to the protection from the Mongolians and he found peace in the Seljuk Empire which is a Turkish Empire, a breeding ground for the Ottoman Empire both economically and socially. He settled in Konya and gave the world an important way of thinking Sufisim. Yes by race he can be Persian if it is that important but due to his influence to the Turkish Society we regard just like one of us. Just like Rumi would have expected to be.

And remember Tājik get a life!

Atalana 15:03, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

@ Ur: there are actually no Azeris, Kurds, or Arabs in my country ... and, for your information, I have been in Turkey once. Really nice country with nice people ... but the Kurdish- and Armenian problem is still there. And believe me: Kurds have certainly a better life in fundamentalist Iran (I guess that's the country you think I am from) than in secular, anti-Kurdish Turkey. Just check the latest news Tājik 16:15, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah right, lecture us then how your country is so democratic, that maybe Turkey can learn some lessons from it. (Personal attack removed) Your portrayal of Kurds, Armenians, and Greeks not having good time there is a big lie. Not all Kurds support the separatists and their teroristic tactics in Turkey. I am a Kurd and live very happily in Turkey. Plus, Turkey has made and is making strides in resolving some of the problematic issues. BTW, your "latest news" dates 7-8 years back, and somehow you presuppose (or would have us believe) that it is all the fault of Turks and their army, not looking at the issue of terrorism... -Ur

@ Atalanta: I have not deleted of Marcan Dede, I have moved it to the bottom of the article. So not place his name on top of the list, because there are other, more important personalities linked to Rumi and his works. Btw: the Seljuqs were not a "Turkish Empire", but a Sunni Muslim Empire that traced it's origin to the Turkic Oghuz tribes of Central Asia ... among others (they also claimed to be descendants of the prophet, and direct descendants of the Iranian Sassanid Shahs). The Seljuqs were not the beginning of the Turkic history in Anatolia, but the Beyliqs of Karaman - they were the first kingdom to pomote Turkish language an a unique Turkish national identity in Anatolia. The Seljuqs were Persianate - in language, culture, and identity. Tājik 16:18, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

"...the Seljuqs were not a Turkish Empire." Please stop playing with words, and read some objective history. Why is it that you cannot stomach certain historical facts. Just because the Seljuqs spoke Persian and embraced certain elements of Persian culture, it does not make them non-Turks. Well... if it will make you feel good, then be my guest...-Ur

I didn't say any language or culture is superior to another. I just told some poems of Movlavi(Rumi) that shows his idea about language. Of course movlavi is Persian and his main works are Persian as well. I think I'd better not to discuss here in this way. If you have any reliable citation that says movlavi is not Persian, then we can discuss them.--Soroush83 19:41, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

thanks--Soroush83 19:41, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

@ Ur: funny that suddenly you do not regard language as the main deffinition for ethnicity. Because in all other articles, Turks persist that "whoever spoke a Turkic language was also a Turk": see Timurids, for example, or Golden Horde. These peoples were Mongols in ethnicity, yet, Turkish nationalists continue to call them "Turks" ... only becazse these peoples were (partly) Turkic in language. Just take a look at this POV site: List of Turkic states. You should also pay attention to this historical quote about the Seljuqs:

• "... From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth and very frequently has been brought to our ears: namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God, a generation, forsooth, which has neither directed its heart nor entrusted its spirit to God, has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by sword, pillage, and fire. ..." - Pope Urban II, Proclamation at Clermont, 1095

Not even the contemporaries of the Seljuqs considered them "Turks" ... you see that?

Tājik 20:00, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

What do you mean I suddenly do not regard language as the main definition for ethnicity? I never claimed such a thing, and I don't care about what others say. (Personal attack removed) As far as the ethnicity of Seljuqs, my friend you either do not know what you are talking about or deluding yourself just like those "nationalistic Turks" you are talking about, only this time you are a "Persian nationalist." The seljuqs were the Turks who made it possible for other Turks (for better or worse) to settle in anatolia. Please read history written by non-nationalistic scholars such as the Western scholars, perhaps. Another thing is that you speak about the Mongols. The Turks and the Mongols are closely related races, my friend. Chengiz Khan's army mainly consisted of Turks.

Also you are quoting from Urban II. Obviously, I am startled. There are many versions of Urban II's speech. Here is a website which, if you read, mentions six versions of the speech. The website starts with this:

"In 1094 or 1095, Alexios I Komnenos, the Byzantine emperor, sent to the pope, Urban II, and asked for aid from the west against the Seljuq Turks, who taken nearly all of Asia Minor from him. At the council of Clermont Urban addressed a great crowd and urged all to go to the aid of the Greeks and to recover Palestine from the rule of the Muslims. The acts of the council have not been preserved, but we have five accounts of the speech of Urban which were written by men who were present and heard him."

if you already did not visit it:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/urban2-5vers.html

Lastly, I am just shocked how some people can object to even what the historians established as hard facts. (Personal attack removed) the Ottomans also used the Persian language extensively, they loved the Persian language. So what do you say maybe they were also, hmmm, Persians? :))) The bad news is that they used the Arabic language also (not to mention the Turkish), and in fact, they adapted more of Arabic culture then the Persian. So don't tell the Arabs, ok?:)) -Ur

I had Turk history class last year and I just have this: Quoted From: PHP. Mohammad Oztupcho a professor of Turkish language and history in UCLA University Until 1360 most of people were speaking Farsi in mid and east part of turkey and specially in gonia. Turks they were migrating to Anatolia more and more but still main language in Maktabs and bazaar and between city people was Farsi. Around 1360 a king (or governor ) gonia decliner punishment for anybody speak Farsi after a time specially in bazaar and Maktabs. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Asheemak (talk • contribs) 16:46, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Quotes by Rumi

1. Does Wikiquotes have quotes by Rumi? If so, can someone who knows how add a link or box? If not, what about adding a quote section here until it gets so unwieldy we should move it to Wikiquotes? :)

Yes, it does, and it's linked waaay at the bottom.DBlomgren 15:49, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

1. I'm looking for a French translation of the quote below. If anyone knows of one, let me know. I see the article has links to translations in English and Swedish.
2. The argument about whether Rumi was Turkish or Persian is so ironic. See the quote below.

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense." – Rumi

DBlomgren 04:04, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Rumi's portrayal as a Persian Philosopher

I find it very discriminative to categorazie a man of such values to humanity just as ethnic Persian based on his birthplace and language of his literature.

This is an insult to the people whom Rumi lived with for the most of his life.

Remember that Persian was the language of arts of his time, and men of learning, including the Ottoman Sultans of later era wrote only in Persian instead of Turkish. That fact does not make them Persian. It is only normal to assume that modern day Iranians indocrinated with poisonous racism; whom even claim the Safavids (who only knew Turkish language) to be Persian, to claim the racial elements crucial for the long term existence of their vile regime. They are no different or better than the Turkish Grey Wolves. Racism only pollutes the history.

Please remove the Persian racial references as there is no room for 20th century petty nationalism in the article of a man who embraced all of humanity. Cruist22 04:40, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

• I totally agree, but -seriously-, seeing the unbelievable portrayal of Rumî as a "Persian Philosopher" in an extremely chauvinistic way, offends Turks deeply, who embraces and accepts Rumî as their own, respectively and understandably. It is known that Persian was the language of intellectuals at that time, and various writers and philosophers from all around the region was writing in Persian, and Rumî was no different than those. There still is no consensus on his origins, but there is a sole fact that Rumî lived, worked, wrote, and died in Anatolia, namely Konya. His life story, interactions with the native Turks and "native" command on Turkish language is quite known in numerous stories and writings survived to date. Only the name "Rumî" indicates that he was "originally" from Anatolia, that's what the name stands for. I still do agree that his nationality should not be that important with the messages he is still giving to the entire humanity, but naming White color as Black, is not necessarily right way to do that by no means. Naming Rumî as a Persian philosopher, is not only an alleged thesis, but "wrong" by all means. Depayens 11:44, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I would read the book by franklin which describes his origin in fairly detail and it is from Vakhsh in Tajikistan. So the name "Rumi" does not denote the fact that he was from Anatolia! He was born in Vakhsh in Tajikistan as he and his father's work have referred to it. Franklin is the top scholar on Rumi and his book is the most detailed biography of Rumi. Intellectuals wrote in Arabic but Persian was the language of the heart and culture. He had many interactions with Greeks, Persians and etc as well.. For example this one is in the praise of Greeks in comparison to Turks, from the book of Aflaki: There is a well known story that the sheikh Salah al-Din one day hired some Turkmen workmen to build the walls of his garden. "Effendi Salah al-Din", said the master (Rumi), "you must hire Greek workmen for this construction. It is for the work of demolition that Turkish workmen must be hired. For the construction of the world is special to the Greeks, and the demolition of this same world is reserved for the Turks. When God created the universe, he first made the carefree infidels. He gave them a long life and considerable force in such a fashion...that in the manner of paid workmen they constructed the earthly world. They erected numerous cities and mountain fortresses...so that after centuries these constructions served as models to the men of recent times. But divine predestination has disposed of affairs in such a way that little by little the constructions become ruins. He created the people of the Turks in order to demolish, without respect or pity, all the constructions which they see. They have done this and are still doing it. They shall continue to do it day in and day out until the Resurrection!. Plus his son clearly states that I do not "Turkish and Greek" well. Thus the spoken language of the family was Persian. Rumi's Jum'a (friday prayers) sermons are also in Persian even in Anatolia. Also Anatolia was majority Greek at that time Rumi and Rum actually means Greek in Islamic languages. Rumi is a universal figure but he was born in Vakhsh Tajikistan and the fact that his son clearly states that he does not know Turkish well is sufficient. The Macronical poetry (half Greek, half Turkish, half Persian) of Rumi is about 250 verses.

Rumi

He was not from Rum, he moved to Rum later in life.Azerbaijani 02:41, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Rumi is a TURKISH man

Although Rumi has written all his assays in Persian Language,he in his MESNEVI in all the 6 volumes he always has stated that he was a TURKISH man. This is very clear. By his time some of the thinkers were writing their assays in ARABIC or in Persian languages. But this does not show that RUMI was an Persian...He was born in HORASAN in that time Horasan was in MAVERAUNNEHIR,in two rivers,this area was West Turkistan...It has no relation with Persia at all.

And Rumi lived in Konya a TURKISH city, that time this city was under the SELJUK RULE. SELJUKS were TURKISH ...No relation with Persia...

So please lets be honest, after Rumi`s Death his followers and his sons built the MEVLEVI TARIQAT. Still Mevlevis make their SEMAS in KONYA...

So Rumi was a real TURKISH MAN. He was not a Persian. But he has used only Persian Language.Since Persian and Arabic languages were assumed the languages of literature of that time.

Well then, what about Mustafa Kemal Attaturk's disdain towards dervishes, whom he viewed as an example of the backwardness of Ottoman culture that needed to be "modernized" if the Turks (and Arabs) were not to be steamrollered by European colonialism during the era of the Great War? Surely this guru is a great guy and an example of the early flowering of Ottoman culture, but to posit him as Turkish in the modern sense seems somewhat misplaced. However, if this ostensible national adoption is reflective of greater tolerance by the current Turkish regime, and in particular by its military, then so be it. Modern Turkey has, to its credit, always sought to be a secular state, unfortunately even going to extremes of religious and ethnic persecution to achieve it, something it continues to be in major denial about. Nonetheless, this is, as with the legacy of Nasser in Egypt, a powerful countertrend to Islamic fundamentalism that needs to be noted. Tom Cod 04:11, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

IF Rumi is Turkish, sing his poems in Turkish if you can! or maybe he was a turk Who hated his own language and prefered Persian!, claim something of yourself and believe the fact that everyone who dies in Turkey is not necessarily a Turk! Sasan 10:31, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Do you know that Eqbal Lahoori was not a Tajik and was not Persian but a persian writer? Do you know that Bedil Dehlawi was a Mongol but a persian speaking mongol? do you know that the mongolians kings and emperors took persian into India?

many Persians actually wrote in Arabic. they are well known. Do you know Mandequl Tair?

Rumi was a turk but a persian speaker turk. actually the Ottoman turks were the first turks who replaced Persian with Turkish as official languages so it is odd if a turk wrote in Persian as it was official languages in central Asia for a long time, also in India.

I don't know what it can mean for you if Iqbal Lahuri (not Eqbal!) wrote persian to justify you! but I hope you are wise enough to know that Rumi talks about Rostam( Iranian Hero and he calls him as his nationalistic symbol SHIRE KHODA HO ROSTAME DASTANAM AREZOOST = I wish to be comrades of Rostam (as nationalistic element) and Ali (as a religious one),also he claims Parsi language and identity in some of his poems very directly!, as well as Iranian and Perisan/Tajik Elements in whole his poems while Iqbal and Dehlawi themselves confessed they were attracked to Persians as non Persians ( read Iqbal poems when he Praises Persian Youthes as a non Persian EY JAVANE AJAM JANE MANO JANE SOHMA meaning Persian Youthes(people), whom my life would be for their way...)...... Again to all Turkish Friends: whoever dies in Turkey is not necessary a Turk! ps: I saw one claiming Rumi as a turk calling his book Mesnavi!, My Advice let's learn the name of his book first then claim him!!!! (Masnawi or Masnavi)195.146.46.15 18:51, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Proof of Turkishness

To prove someone's ethnicity, I guess that the best source is his own words. I'm trying to find the original (probably in Masnawi) verses, but the following Turkish and English translation is written by Rumi himself: "Yabanci degil, sizin köyün halkindan/Bir dostum, semtinizde bir yer arayan/ Düşman da görünse çehrem, olamam düşman/Acemce söylesem de Türküm aslen."

In English: Not a foreigner, I'm from your village/I'm a friend, who seeks a place in your town/Even if my face seems hostile, I can't be your enemy/Even though I talk in Persian, I am a Turk." The original poem should be referred, indeed. 85.97.182.41 15:15, 20 April 2007 (UTC) Emre (http://istanbulian.blogspot.com)

Sorry but Rumi has no such Turkish poem and you need to bring the original Persian. He has a poem that says نگار من ترک است و گرچه من ترک نیستم ..اما میدانم که به ترکی هست آب سو.(you are a Turkish moon, I, although I am not Turk, know that much, that in Turkish the word water is su)(Ann Marrie Schimmel, The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi, pg 196). Plus Rumi's son explicitly says he does not know Turkish/Greek well and he knows Persian and Arabic well. Also Rumi compares himself to Roman, Hindu, Turk, Zang and etc. These have symbolic meaning in Persian poetry. I am sometimes Turk, sometimes Hindu, sometimes Rumi(Roman/Greek) and sometimes Negro..(Ann Marrie Schimmel, The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi, pg 196). The symbols Turk, Hindu, Roman, Negro(Zang) in Persian poetry does not denote ethnicity but has multiple layers of meaning which is explained in that book. To show that Rumi is not a turk is best to quote his non-poetical works which is compiled by Aflaki. For example this one is in the praise of Greeks in comparison to Turks, from the book of Aflaki: There is a well known story that the sheikh Salah al-Din one day hired some Turkmen workmen to build the walls of his garden. "Effendi Salah al-Din", said the master (Rumi), "you must hire Greek workmen for this construction. It is for the work of demolition that Turkish workmen must be hired. For the construction of the world is special to the Greeks, and the demolition of this same world is reserved for the Turks. When God created the universe, he first made the carefree infidels. He gave them a long life and considerable force in such a fashion...that in the manner of paid workmen they constructed the earthly world. They erected numerous cities and mountain fortresses...so that after centuries these constructions served as models to the men of recent times. But divine predestination has disposed of affairs in such a way that little by little the constructions become ruins. He created the people of the Turks in order to demolish, without respect or pity, all the constructions which they see. They have done this and are still doing it. They shall continue to do it day in and day out until the Resurrection!. Note by this satement along it shows Rumi was neither Greek or Turk. That is why his son also says he does not know Turkish or Greek well but is at ease with Persian. In His Masnavi and Diwan he also disapproves of plunderance of Oguz tribes and he has described Turks as cheshm-tang (narrow eyed) given the fact that original Turks were not of caucasoid stock. I would read Franklin's book which is the most up to date on Rumi's biography and also in Aflaki. Rumi's family actually comes from Vakhsh in Tajikistan. --24.168.149.56 23:54, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

21 February 2007 Bothi 22:10, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Not true. Rumi's name is Rumi because majority were Greeks. Seljuqs were Persianized thoroughly. But if this is sufficient we have direct statement from Rumi's son that he did not know Turkish and Greek well and he is more comfortable in Arabic and Persian. (Despite being born in modern Turkey). Plus Rumi's fathers work contains archaic Persian words and thus proves he was actually from Vakhsh as proposed by Franklin. By the way Khorasan is different than Mawa-an-Nahr. --alidoostzadeh 01:16, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

"Rumi's name is Rumi because majority were Greeks". It is not correct. Look at old maps: You will see Anatolia as "Turchia", because majority was Turkish, or "Diyar-ı Rum", "Sultanate of Rum" meaning that lands of Rome. Fatih has also the name "Kayser-i Rum", (Ceasar of Rome). Rum means Anatolia, and Rumi is equivalent to saying Turkish. Rum indicates these lands are former Roman Empire. Also, Ottoman Empire is the successor of Roman Empire. (This is information on what Rumi means, not about Mevlana, himself.Paparokan 20:56, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Rumi as a language is used for Greek. When Mowlana's son talks about not knowing Rumi and Turkish languages well, he means Greek by Rumi. Also Turkey is a modern name, the old name is Ottoman empire in the west. Iranians called it Rome during the Safavid era. Rumi's name comes from the fact that he migrated from Khorasan(Born in Vakhsh in Tajikistan and migrated to Balkh in Afghanistan) and from Balkh to Rum (Greece). --alidoostzadeh 22:59, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

You are wrong again. See Halil Inalcık book "Tarihçilerin Kutbu", page 156.

Rumi is equivalent to Anatolian, or Turkish. Ottoman Empire was given the name of Rumi in India, Indonesia, Arabia. Name for Anatolia is Biladurrum in Arabic languages. Rumi also means Anatolian Turkish muskeeters in Indian Babur Empire in 1500's. India is conquered by these Rumi soldiers. Rumi's second meaning is Anatolian, or Turkish(from Turkey). Rumi in Mowlana' name does not refer to benig Greek, but refer to being Anatolian. In West Ottoman Empire was knowns as Turkey, it is a very old name. (See the map on Balkan Wars, also there are older maps in which Anatolia is called Turkey.) In summary, Turkey was known as Turkey in West, and Rum in East in history. Paparokan 13:54, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Fact is Ottomans did not used Turkey. --alidoostzadeh 15:25, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Of course, yes.Paparokan 16:05, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

yes he is turkish. in one of his poems he describes himself as turkish.

Then what about BEDIL DEHLAWI who is of a mongolian but wrote in Persian? What about Eqbal Lahoori who was an Indian-Pakistani and wrote in Persian? We have hundreds of writers whore wrote in Persian but ethnically they had not anything to do with Persian Ethnic group or with Tajiks. Rumi clearly is from Turkic background not Tajik. actually the Mongols took Persian into India. peopel have worked on this subjict. the contribution of the Turkic people in the sread of Persian language is a known one. Mahmud Ghazna was Turk but he had four thousand persian poets around him.

بيگانه مي گوئيد مرا زين كويم درشهر شما خانه ي خود مي جويم دشمن نيم ارچند كه دشمن رويم اصلم ترك است اگر چه هندي گويم

Those are the lines refered at the beginning. Of course this doesn't mean anything in itself but bearing in mind that he wrote in Chagatai he was probably of Turkic descent. I don't think Persians of the time could speak Turkish, because Turkish has been an inferior language as compared to Persian. DRCMN --85.101.41.155 17:48, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

He didn't write Chagatay. Plus you forgot these lines:

اي تُرک ِ ماه‌چهره، چه گردد که صبح، تو آيي به حجره‌ي ِ من و گويي که: گـُل برو! تو ماه ِ ترکي و من گرچه ترک نيستم، دانم من اين قَدَر که به ترکي است، آب سُو آب ِ حيات ِ تو گر از اين بنده تيره شد، تُرکي مکن به کُشتَنَم‌ام اي تُرک ِ تُرک‌خو! توجه کنيد: من گرچه ترک نيستم ولي دانم اين قدر که ترکي است آب سو.. پس ايشان ميگويند ترک نيستند. يا اينجا خود را هندو خوانده است: هندوي ساقي دل خويشم که بزم ساخت تا ترک غم نتازد کامروز طوي نيست or this: گه تركم و گه هندو گه رومي گه زنگي از نقش تو است اي جان اقرارم و آنكارم

Also he has Greek poems. To show he was Iranian, it is sufficient to note that his son clearly states that "I do not know Turkish well"

گذر از گفت ترکي و رومي چون از آن اصطلاح محرومي ليک از پارسي گوي و از تازي چونکه در هر دو خوش همي تازي

I had Turk history class last year and I just have this: Quoted From: PHP. Mohammad Oztupcho a professor of Turkish language and history in UCLA University Until 1360 most of people were speaking Farsi in mid and east part of turkey and specially in gonia. Turks they were migrating to Anatolia more and more but still main language in Maktabs and bazaar and between city people was Farsi. Around 1360 a king (or governor ) gonia decliner punishment for anybody speak Farsi after a time specially in bazaar and Maktabs.

QA 1: if he was Turk why he didn't write just one line in Turkish? QA 2: you Turk guys have you ever tried to read even one Turkish letter form 1400 or 1500? I believe even you guys cannot understand one line of it. For a fares speaker reading Turkish letter form 1400 is a lot easier than reading Kurdish or even Arabic. I speak Azari and Farsi and Kurdish. For me all of Turkish languages between 1300~ 1600 is like Farsi with different ending. Exactly the way poem writers in republic Azerbaijan are writing poems. Example: “ az dareh kharabatio man ke garche mastamoo masrooram vali oghlam ourum” If You know farsi and azari you can see just last two word are Turkish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Asheemak (talk • contribs) 17:00, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Formatting

It looks like this page needs some major re-formatting work. There are multiple sections for references, footnotes, and bibliographies, as an example. Any volunteers for a cleanup effort? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.16.255.168 (talk) 00:50, 25 February 2007 (UTC).

He was Persian

The word Tajik should be removed from the introduction because he was Iranian-Persian. Tajik's are Persians living in Tajikistan and other parts of Central Asia. In Rumi's time Balkh was still apart of Iran. Also, His name should not be written in Turkish because that is irrelevent. He was not Turkic, he did not speak Turkish and never once wrote a word in Turkish. Dariush4444 22:04, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

The Turkish spelling should be mentioned, because nowadays, most of his followers live in Turkey. The term "Tajik" is mentioned in Rumi's poetry and was the common name given to Persian during his life-time. Tājik 02:20, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

He was born in Balkh, Afghanistan. He was a Central Asian Persian = Tajik. Therefore, he was not Iranian-Persian.

Balkh was an Iranian City of the time, and Tajik means Persians.

Tājīk (Persian: تاجيک; UniPers: Tâjik; Tajik: Тоҷик) is a term generally applied to Persian-speaking peoples of Iranian origin living east of Iran. The traditional Tajik homelands are in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Alternative names for the Tajiks are Fārsī (Persian), Fārsīwān (Persian-speaking), and Dīhgān (literally "village settlers", in a wider sense "urban"; in contrast to "nomadic" or "tribal" — only used in southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan).[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajiks Sasan 15:04, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

"Tājīk" is a word of Turko-Mongol origin and means (literally) Non-Turk. It has the same root as the word Tat which is used by Turkic-speakers for the Persian-speaking population of the Caucasus. In a historical context, it is synonymous with Iranian[9] and particularly with Persian. Since the Turko-Mongol conquest of Central Asia, Persian-speakers in Afghanistan, Iran and all the way to Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kashmir and India have been identified as Tājīks. The term is mainly used against and as opposed to "Turk" and "Mongol".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajiks Sasan 15:07, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Rumi was Afghan. He was born in an Afghan city, and he is of Afghan parents. He was a sunni Muslim, and his poetry is in Dari. Man I'm sick of all these persians trying to claim everything. Get a damn identity and stop trying to steal other peoples

Well First of all I bet you are a Pashtun,( the majority of people calling themselves "Afghan" in the land also the main ethnicity of Pakistanis) who mostly can't undrestand a single word of Rumi's Poem! and you claim him!!!, by the way, Afghanistan is a modern country made out of british colony and to your surprise it was taken from Iran! Secondly, Dari is Persian (instead of being sick of something educate yourself please!) Dari (Persian: دری) is the official name for the Persian language in Afghanistan, popularly and locally known as Farsi. "Dari" is an abbreviation of Darbārī, meaning "royal court", a reference to the classic style of Persian and to the court language of Sassanids.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari_(Afghanistan) Thirdly, People of Rumi's time was whole Sunni in Iran and as a result in Balkh not only Rumi himself other Persian Poems like Khayaam, Attar ,.......... whole were Sunni. Fourthly The word "Afghan" never existed in the time of Rumi as a NON IRANIAN identity, it's a modern word: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_name_Afghan, so it's very obvious if Rumi could ever hear you, calling him an Afghan, I bet he would be shocked! , fifthly, Land isn't important, it's people who are important, in today Kharezm, mongolic races live , but less than 800 years ago it was Iranians who lived there ( mostly Killed by Mongols) so it doesn't mean every heritage in Khawarzm is a mongoic one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khwarezm, so Pashtuns can't claim Persian/Tajik scholars because simply they have immigrated to the land or reproduced a lot and they are a majority of the land! Rumi was and is a Human not a Land....... Finally, I suggest you to use a better language in educational webistes, we Iranians/Tajiks/Persians/Iranic people ......... all have a glorious identity and we are not talking about a matter if we don't posses knowladge about it. thanks. Sasan 10:02, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Mawlana Balkhi was a Tajik/Persian not an Afghan. Afghans are only pashtuns and during Rumi's time their was no Pashtuns(afghans) in Khorasan. Pashtuns started migrating to Khorasan in the 19th century, By the way, I am a Tajik from Balkh and I am not an Afghan

--Anoshirawan 23:42, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Name

I thought he is usually called Molavi in Farsi. Does anyone know? Frail Elf 05:51, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

He is known as "Molavi" in the Tehran dialect. But that is not the correct Persian transliteration. The correct pronounciation is Mawlānā and Mawlawī. Tājik 00:52, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

If he is known as Rumi, shouldn't that be the title? Are the naming conventions different for the personal names? deniz^T_C 22:28, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Really, why don't we move it to Rumi? deniz^T_C 17:00, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Because that's only a nickname. Accross the Persian-speaking world, he is known as "Mowlana", and his real name was "Jalal ud-Din". Tājik 20:17, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

But this is English wikipedia, so it should be moved. deniz^T_C 21:06, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

I do not think so. The word "Rumi" should be a redirection. The current name is OK. Tājik 21:44, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't mind so much but are you not going against the rules, conventions? deniz^T_C 23:58, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Why don't you add Mawlānā and Mawlawī in the lead.--Sa.vakilian(t-c) 16:12, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

What do you mean? You go ahead and add it, if you want to. The discussion was about Rumi. I was saying that the tittle should be Rumi, as (according to the article) it is how he is known to the English speaking world. The current name should be a redirect. Mawlānā can also be a redirect, if not already so. The lead should be something like this:

"Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī [2] (Template:PerB, Turkish: Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehmed Rumi), known to the English-speaking world as Rumi, also known as Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (Template:PerB), ...",

if you don't want to put Rumi right at the beginning. Anyway the tittle should be Rumi. deniz^T_C 18:01, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Good article nomination

I nominated this article as a good article but we should improve to reach Good article criteria.

These are my suggestions:

1. Pictures:
   1. Without tag:Image:Rmmtk.jpg: This picture doesn't have any tag.
   2. Without Help:Image page#Fair use rationale#fair use ratioal: Image:Higherself.jpg, Image:Rdance.jpg, Image:Tavern1.jpg, Image:Rumi concert nazeri.gif

I corrected the images. The problem of all of them has been solved except Image:Rmmtk.jpg--Sa.vakilian(t-c) 17:42, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

1. Citation needed:Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi#Major works
2. Verification needed: Refresh the dead sites like [1]
3. Lead: I think a pragraph should be added about his position as religious scholar and Sufitic superiority in sufistic orders and among Muslims.
4. Structure:
   1. We can divide his life in 3 parts or at least 2 parts. From his birth to achieve Konya. In Konya before Shams and after him.
   2. position in current world which includes International Rumi Year as well as attention of Orientalists and other westerners to him. I mean his position among westerners.
5. broad in coverage:His position among westerners

--Sa.vakilian(t-c) 16:37, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

This needs team working:

1. Who checks lingual aspect?
2. Who tries to complete it by adding Orientalist and westerners viewpoint?
3. Who checks references and refresh them by adding new one instead of dead links?
4. Who add references wherever it is necessary.
5. Who works on its structure and wikification?

# Who adds tags and fair use rationals to pictures?

I can help in refereshing the references. Don't you think it was better to resolve the above issues first and then nominate it for a good article?(Arash the Archer 06:01, 4 April 2007 (UTC))

I guess they won't review this article until next week and we can improve it until then. I wanted to attract others to help with improving this article and I believe it's completely possible. --Sa.vakilian(t-c) 16:58, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

I corrected the images' copyright tags.--Sa.vakilian(t-c) 17:42, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Shahram Nazeri in Oscars

As far as I remember Shahram Nazeri did not perform in 2007 Oscars. I think we should remove this part.(Arash the Archer 05:58, 4 April 2007 (UTC))

Is it sourced? I don't remember him performing in 2007 Oscars either. --Mardavich 08:40, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

no he didn't perform in oscar !!!! but he performed around in LA in disney hall " shabeh rumi" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Asheemak (talk • contribs) 17:03, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Rumi is also not among the most popular poets in the USA, but this doesn't seem to keep such an outlandish claim from appearing. Rumi is not taught in American schools and he is not a top-seller, despite the claims of Internet-wired Islamists. Look at Amazon book sales, for example. You'll notice that while the top-selling poets in the USA (Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Jewel, Donald Hall, etc.) sell far more books that Rumi. But, because a few personal websites claim that Rumi is the most famous poet in the USA, people post it on Wikipedia as a fact.

Actually this fact is in mainstream magazines and not internet magazines! See the book by franklin

Persian (Tājīk)

I can't understand the Tājīk in parenthesis which is linked to Tājīk ethnicity. How do we know for sure he was ethnically Tājīk. We only know he was born in Balkh but still doesn't prove he is Tājīk unless a DNA test or something is done. Even if we can prove that he was Tājīk; It is the first time that I see the ethnicity of a person is mentioned in the first sentence. Moreover none of other encyclopedias use this term. The other confusion is about the word Persian. Persian can refer to Persian (Ethnicity), Persian (language), and residents of the country of Persia(Iran). I think to much emphasis on ethnicity will bring racism issues, therefore here we should say Rumi was a Persian … (As it is done in many reliable sources) and Wikilink Persian to Iran or Persian Empire or Greater Iran as the name of the country he was from not his ethnicity.(Arash the Archer 01:14, 5 April 2007 (UTC))

This term Tajik was what ethnic Persians and/or Persian-speakers were called during that era in Balkh and the rest of Central Asia, especially by Turks. And today ethnic Persians and/or Persian-speakers in that region are also called Tajik. Tajik is not a race and there is no DNA test for it since they are a mix of Bactrians, Sogdians, Parnians, and Scythians with sometimes a slight Turkic admixture, especially in Central Asia. Tajik is a cultural/linguistic term that generally applies to Persians and/Persians of Central Asian and in general east of modern Iran. See the article Tajiks. Rumi's ethnicity was Persian and the link will take you to the Persian people article which explains that Persians are an ethic group. SIt is not about ethnicity, or nationalism, it is simply stating his ethnic background with relation to his time and also to today as would any biography. So both terms should stay, it makes no sense to remove either one. --Behnam 05:30, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Behnam. I think you should add this to Tajik if it is well sourced so no one else get confused like me.(Arash the Archer 13:56, 8 April 2007 (UTC))

The term Tajik is fully justified. If anything, it should be used exclusively. I am a Tajik myself and I am disgusted that Iranians stake a claim to someone that is not theirs. Rumi was a Tajik, not an Iranian. That point needs to be made very clear. If you just write Persian, most people will think of Iranians, as the terms Iranians and Persians (regrettably) are used more or less synonymously in the West. However, Tajiks and Iranians are not the same people. Tajiks are not Iranians. The Iranians themselves consider Tajiks to be a foreign people. Consider the current situation of the many Tajik refugees (from Afghanistan) living in Iran. The Iranian government and population consider them foreigners and do not treat them as compatriots in any way. Far from it. The Iranians take every chance to humiliate and exploit them. I leave it up to you to read more about the mistreatment and abuse of the Tajik people in Iran. You can find plenty of articles on the web. My point is very clear though. The fact that Rumi is presented as an Iranian misrepresents his background. He was a Tajik. End of story. (User: Tajik 4 Ever)

During Rumi's time the word Tajik never existed, Tajik was what turkic people called Persians, also today people of Afghanistan(minority of Persians/Tajiks there, not the majority of pashtuns!) and Tajikistan are emphasized by Iranians as different poeple, becuase of their mixture with mongolic poeple something that just began during Rumi's time and mongols where cleansing the area out of Persians or Mixing with them. these are very obvious facts and let's not be dogmatic about it. also let's thank God he sang in persian(farsi) so remains no doubt that he is a Persian/Tajik! or as you know, Arabs and Turks are always ready to claim Persian/Tajik scholars as they do about Avicenna, Biruni, .......... !!!

Where is my article?!!!!!!! btw, again Tajik is what turks call Persians................

Some images

I put tags on some images and asked one of Wiki admins to check them. This is his answer:In re your question -- Image:Rumi concert nazeri.gif seems fine. The other three, Image:Higherself.jpg, Image:Rdance.jpg and Image:Tavern1.jpg need to make a Wikipedia:Fair use claim or be deleted, as we do not accpet "non-commercial" or "educational use only" content here. Jkelly 19:13, 5 April 2007 (UTC).

I think we don't need numerous images and we can deleted some of them. but if you insist on keeping them, we can add fair use tag.--Sa.vakilian(t-c) 02:46, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

I removed these pictures.--Sa.vakilian(t-c) 04:19, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

A review on references

I took a glance at the references and here are my observasions:

• The flowing references are not reliable:
  • 5 is a travel agency site  Done
  • 9, 25 is a shopping website.  Done
  • 16 is a personal home page. Done
• 12 is not clear “The Mysteries of the Universe and Rumi's Discoveries on the Majestic Path of Love”  Done
• 18 ,23,27 are dead. Done
• 31,33, are not English and corresponding information is not correct(Nazeri in Oscars). They should be deleted. Done
• I couldn't verify the reliability of 1017 they seem to be weak. Done

I will try to find better references but I am not a persistant Wikipedian and I ask everyone to help.(Arash the Archer 16:17, 6 April 2007 (UTC))

Failed GA

I am failing this article for GA. There is a lot of excellent material here, and I think it can reach GA without a great deal of extra work, but there are a few problems.

1. References. There are several unreferenced sections, and a few "citation needed" cleanup tags. The tags need to be fixed, and references found for the others. Examples:
   1. Under "Life", the first five paragraphs have only one reference.
   2. "Teachings of Rumi" is largely unreferenced
2. In addition, the problems mentioned above by Arash the Archer are not yet addressed; I checked two or three of his comments and those problems still exist. Done
3. Fair use. There are pictures which do not have adequate fair use rationales. See Help:Image_page#Fair_use_rationale for more on what a rationale has to include; Image:Higherself.jpg, for example, has a rationale but not one that meets the requirements. Image:Rumi museum.jpg also appears to have a copyright issue.
4. Generally, the whole "Life" section is not written in a neutral tone. For example, in the "Life" section, there is this sentence: "Attar immediately recognized Rumi's spiritual eminence." As it stands this has the article endorsing Rumi's spiritual eminence, which is a subjective judgement. It would be OK to include this as a direct quote from a source that states this. Alternatively you could rephrase it as something like "Attar is supposed to have immediately recognized Rumi's spiritual eminence." Another example would be the meeting with Shams Tabrizi: a voice appearing to Rumi is something that should be described not as necessarily happening, but as the way it is related to have happened. E.g. 'A voice is said to have come, "What will you give in return?"' And of course this would need to be sourced too. The third paragraph of the "Teachings" section uses a style like this. It would also be possible to summarize and simply give references, though if the direct quotes add value they are fine. However, this neutrality problem does show up in the later sections too. I can give additional examples if you would like me to.
5. A minor point: is it "Masnavi" or "Mathnavi"? It would be best to be consistent, even if you do mention alternative spellings. Done

Issues that would not prevent GA:

1. There has been quite a bit of editing going on, including some significant additions -- are the editors here comfortable that the article is fairly stable? If you think there's more that can be done, by all means add it and renominate it when it's stable. I wouldn't fail it at this point just for this issue as there does not appear to be edit-warring.
2. A copyedit question: what is meant by "local dialogue" in the lead? Should it be "dialect"?

If you would have any questions, I will keep this page on my watchlist for a while, or you can post a note at my talk page. If you feel that this review is in error, please feel free to take it to a GA review.

-- Mike Christie (talk) 01:59, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

External Links section....

... is way too long. Please delete and keep a small subset of these. You may also could consider using some of the material in these websites as sources for this article, where appropriate. Form more info see WP:EL ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 19:08, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Rumi, an islamized Greek

The name "Rumi" comes from the "rome" and "roman", initially meaning the citizen of the Roman Empire, but in eastern roman (and later otoman) region came to mean "greek orthodox". Large greek and other populations were by force islamized under the otoman, arab or persian rule. This is why the modern citizens of turkey do not have the mongolic characteristics of the central Asia populations who speak turanic languages.

Rumi knew very well the orthodox dogma and the greek language and wrote several poems in greek with arabic alphabet. See the bibliography in the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocian_Greek_language —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Georgar (talk • contribs) 11:55, 4 May 2007 (UTC).

You should stop spewing your greek propaganda. Rumi means 'someone from the roman land' in persian because he was lived in anatolia which at that time was known as 'land of the romans'. The islamization of anatolia was done by sufi orders, many greeks who were persecuted by the byzantine empire were relieved from the pressures of the corrupt byzantine administrators in anatolia. Some 2.5 million Turks immigrated to anatolia from central asia, the turks in central asia at that time did not look different from the turks in Turkey now. Infact the turks mixed with many tribes who were already living in central asia like the tocharians and persians. Rumi was not influenced by orthodox religion at all, there is no similarity between his message and orthodox christianity. Rumi's message is the same as other sufi masters. Orrin_73

Molana Rumi wrote 99% of his works in Persian and 1% Arabic, He wrote both in Arabic and Persian, he was a Persian poet,a full blooded Persian, not turkish, and he did not know turkish and could not speak a word in turkish, some turks consider him turkish, but this claim is false. he was persian because he was born in a persian country and spoke persian as native language.he dont became turkish only because he lived mostly in a turkish country and died there.If you are a kurd and have lived most of your life in Europe or America and if you die there you are still a kurd and your blood is still kurdish.

You are wrong, Rumi was ethnically persian but lived most of his live in Konya in western Turkey. If Rumi was unable to speak Turkish, how in the world did he communicate with the people in Konya!!!!! Rumi spoke Turkish but he wrote his poems in persian which was common at that time, even the Ottoman sultans wrote their poems in Persian.Orrin_73

Jalal ad-Din Al Rumi is not the same as Ibn Al Rumi

Ibn al Rumi is another poet; he died in 283 AH (896 AD), about 2 centuries earlier. He was born in Baghdad and he had clear and distinguishable Byzantine ancestry. His name was Ali Ibn Abbas Ibn Guraige, Guraige being the Arabized form of Gregory.

Hence, I deleted the part in the introduction where it says "sometimes shortened to Ibn Al Rumi) as it refers to someone else. --Maha Odeh 07:11, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Why can't I search "Rumi"?

I cannot navigate to this article by searching "Rumi." Considering the myriad spellings of all the other parts of the poet's name, this would seem the one reliable search phrase.

Words for the wind 19:56, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

See Rumi, which redirects to this article. ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 20:10, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Deepak Chopra CD with Madonna, etc

I'm not familiar with the subject, so I can't contribute editorially, but is this the Rumi whose poetry was recorded by Deepak Chopra in the late 90's under the CD name "A Gift of Love"? The CD was commercially very successful and featured numerous celebrity readers (Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, Goldie Hawn, Madonna, etc). If this is the same Rumi then the article should probably mention that fact. Manning 05:39, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

May Mowlana himself forgive us!

It is a shame that despite all what HE said, there are still people trying to offer HIM by force a passport from afghanistan, iran or even turkey. HE was born in balkh (now afghanistan), wrote in persian (now spoken mainly in iran), died in konya (now in turkey). why should we try to bother him with silly stuff like nationality , etc... we all know that: in watan mesro aragho shamm nist... please stop vandalism. a joke at the end: mowlana has, as attar predicted, set the world in fire. for those great hearts fire of love and humanity-oriented worries, for those intellectually poor people fire of possession and exclusive ownership of famous things.

Mowlana forgive us! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.70.24.247 (talk) 18:29, 3 October 2007 (UTC)